Moving into a new space brings with it many possibilities. A well-designed office, after all, can help employees be more productive by supporting both their physical needs and also their workflows.
While each space will need its own unique design, it is important to know what features make or break a great design. To help you ensure that you get all the bells and whistles you’d want for your new office, follow this guide:
Top Essentials to Start
If you are building an office or fitting it from the ground up you’ll have more options than a company essentially hotdesking some space.
One of the options you’ll want to consider first is how efficient the essentials are. Does the plumbing use a lot of water? How efficient is the water heater? The air conditioning? Having a perfectly maintained inner climate in your office helps your staff be more productive, while improving the efficiency of your systems can help you save significantly over time.
You don’t always need to do this, of course. That’s why it’s good to bring in an inspector so that you can get a good gauge of how efficient your systems are. If they are old and outdated, bring in an all-in-one service like Rosetta Group that can handle plumbing, gas, air conditioning, and even hydronic heating all at once to save you time and hassle.
Provide the Right Physical Support
Working long hours at the desk is very hard on the body, so you need to help support your staff’s health and wellbeing to improve productivity.
This can be done by simply choosing the most ergonomic furniture. This means chair, desk, screen height, and even keyboard. Since every person has different measurements, the easiest way to do this is with adjustable options. This way, each staff member can adjust their desk, chair, and monitor height to their needs.
You can also set up a small break room that’s designed just for stretching, complete with a television and a playlist of easy stretch tutorials to help employees shake off the spiderwebs and feel better at their desks.
Help Connect Everyone to Their Space
You want your employees to work in a space that feels good to them. This means the cubicle or even the open plan option needs to be nixed. Instead, consider designing several spaces that accommodate different work styles.
For example, you can have one area that is an open-plan space. Then, in another area, you can have comfort spaces (think coffee shops), quiet zones (where no talking is allowed), or standing spaces (with standing desks or digital whiteboards).
This gives employees their own desk, but also offers spaces if they need a new space just to change things up. Sometimes all an employee needs is to move from their ergonomic desk to a sofa for a bit to renew their creative productivity.
Amplify the Natural Light
Lighting plays a huge role in happiness, productivity, and job satisfaction. In fact, a decrease in natural light can negatively impact emotional wellbeing, and their overall life satisfaction. In order to combat this, it’s key that you have as many windows as possible. You may also want to consider using mirrors on the opposite wall or throughout your office’s design to help amplify the amount of natural light throughout the space.